


Miraculous goes to China

by Kay_Dubs



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2018-12-31 10:46:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12130788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kay_Dubs/pseuds/Kay_Dubs
Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir are a team, but how will they be able to cope when Ladybug isn't there? Will Hawk Moth rise victorious, or will this Chat learn some new tricks? And what about Ladybug? What will the spotted hero find waiting for her over 7,000 Km away. Could this be the end of our great hero's friendship? Does distance really matter?





	1. How Do You Say Goodbye?

Sigh

She loved these nights. The lights of Paris blurred by the subtle rain. She paused uptop a roof taking in the view of the Eiffel Tower. She loved this city. She would miss it dearly. With a smile and a nod she threw her yoyo, using the string to fly over her beautiful streets. As she swung throughout the city she hummed "La Marseillaise" to herself. The French Anthem only seemed to make her want to stay. In her moment of self toil her hands slipped from the string of her yoyo and she fell, tumbling towards the unforgiving concreted streets.

She never hit the pavement however, thanks to a pair of strong arms that she knew far too well. "Chat.." She breathed to her rescuer as she met his bright green eyes.

"M'lady," her feline friend gently set her down before bowing. "So nice of you to drop in, although there are better ways to get me to hold you." He raised a brow which she could only respond to with eye rolling.

"Sorry about that, I guess my mind was else where." She shrugged. Truth be told her mind was still elsewhere. How could she explain this to him? She gazed at him as he gracefully sat on a nearby covered bench. He did it so casually as if it made no difference to him that they were in costume. He patted his gloved hand to the space beside him.

"You're mind seems to be doing that a lot lately, care to sit?" He commented. It was true. He had noticed how during their fights her eyes would seem to glaze over, or she would stop for a moment and really look at everything as if trying to capture each moment in memory. "You'll find I can be a paaawsitively great listener."

"Thanks Chat Noir but I should be heading home. You should too, wouldn't want your fur all wet." She tried to make a joke but like usual hers never seemed to work as well as when Chat made them. The black masked superhero shook his head.

"My Lady, we live in the city of love it would be a shame if we ignored the beauty of it. Come, sit for a minute. Relax, it's just for a minute then you can go swing your way into someone else's heart." As playful as Chat Noir's words were he was serious. He was worried about his dear lady. Something was clearly bothering her but he had no idea what. "You can tell me anything, Ladybug." Well, almost anything. They couldn't reveal their identities, but he had learned to live with that fact.

"Chat I...I have to leave." She couldn't tell him, not this. He would hate her, and she couldn't handle that. Plus, she hadn't even told Alya yet! Best friend trumped partner, but she was running out of time. "I'll talk to you later." She promised before running off with a swing of her yoyo. Chat looked after her, amazed at how stubborn she could be. At the same time he wished she would tell him. He wondered if her distance was somehow his fault. Had he come off too strong? Was his charm too much for his bug-a-boo? If only she would talk to him like a normal friendship.

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"You're going to have to tell everyone eventually Marinette, you can't keep it a secret much longer." Tikki sat on Marinette's desk chewing on a chocolate chip cookie, her favorite.

"I know Tikki, but I don't know how!" She could just imagine the look on Chat Noir's face if she explained to him her predicament. She knew that his green eyes would show the feelings of betrayal and his ears would bend forward with sadness. She couldn't bear the thought of that. "How would you do it?" Marinette asked her faithful friend as she plopped herself onto the pillows of her bed. She glanced around at the scattered half filled boxes that swarmed her room. 

"Just be honest, they're still your friends. I'm sure you can figure it out. You'll find a way to keep in touch, but you best tell them soon. You only have three more days." At this gentle reminder the blue haired girl let out a groan and buried her face into her pillows.


	2. Best Friends are the Best

"Marinette, you're going to be late for school!" Sabine's voice could be heard as it called up the flight of stairs that lead to her daughter's room. "Marineetteeee!" The chinese woman shook her head and resumed getting breakfast ready. With a jump Marinette sprang out of bed.

"I'm late, oh Tikki! Why didn't my alarm go off? Why didn't you wake me?" She tore through her closet until she found her favorite outfit and quickly shoved it on. She knew it wasn't her Kwami's fault that she was always sleeping in. What could she say? Saving Paris almost every night really put a toll on her, as did packing up all of her belongings. She pulled her book bag up off the floor, and then her purse from her empty desk. "Let's go Tikki." She said as the small red kwami dove into the purse and went back to sleep. How nice it must be for her, Marinette thought, to be able to sleep the day away instead of in class. "I'm coming maman!" She yelled down at her mother. The pigtailed girl took a quick look around her room to make sure she had everything before racing down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Have a good day at school sweetie, are your things packed up? We want everything ready for the moving truck tomorrow." Sabine asked, putting Marinette's breakfast of croissants and muffins in a bag for the girl to eat on her way to school. Sabine always pack extra incase one of Marinette's friends ever wanted some. Which they always did.

"Just about, I still have a few things." Marinette spoke sadly. It was clear that this was not something she wanted to talk about. "I'll pack them tonight."

"Alright, chin up mon chou. Everything will be fine, you'll make new friends." Sabine smiled, that caring smile that reminded Marinette how much she loved and worried for the girl. "Now, you'd better leave so that you get to class in time."

"Ah! R-right! A toute a leur maman." Marinette gave her mother a quick peck on the cheek before rushing off. "Tell papa bye for me!" She knew her father was already in the bakery getting ready for the shop to open. As the door shut Marinette raced off to school. She couldn't be late, not again!

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette slipped into her seat just as the bell rang for class to begin. She glanced at Alya who sat next to her. The tanned blogger wasn't surprised at Mari's near tardiness as she happily took a blueberry muffin from her friend's breakfast bag.

"Nino, Adrien, did you want some?" Marinette asked the two boys in front of her in a whisper. Their teacher had started writing notes on the blackboard.

"Thanks!" Nino nodded, and took two pastries out. He handed Adrien a cinnamon croissant and had a muffin for himself. Marinette smiled. The cinnamon croissants were one of her favorites! If Adrien and her were dating they could have cinnamon croissants every day! They could name their first dog cinnamon if he wanted! Wait, what was she doing? Marinette shook her head as she pulled her science book from her bag. No, you can't think about that right now. Stay focused, you won't be here much longer so you need to stop thinking about Adrien like that!

With her head down Marinette got through Science and even Literature class without any Adrien day dreaming. The bell rang and now it was time for break. Marinette turned to Alya. "I need to talk to you." Alya nodded.

"Alright girl, what's up?" Alya asked once the two girls were sitting at a bench in the courtyard. "Everything okay with you, you seem kind of...out of it. Like, more than usual."

"I-" Marinette sighed. "This is kind of hard to explain but...do you remember my mother's uncle? Wang Cheng?"

"The famous chef?"

"Yeah, that one! Well, he asked my dad to be his pastry chef, I mean he opened a restaurant in China and well my dad and mom decided it would be fun." Marinette was rambling. "And my mother is all excited because her family is in China and my dad, well I mean he's nervous who wouldn't be but he's excited at the same time. I think he's always wanted to work with a full kitchen staff, and he'll get to learn to make different sorts of pastries and candies. And he told chef Cheng that he would love to and and and..."

"In China?"

"Yeah....we're moving....to China." Marinette rubbed the back of her neck and looked up at Alya. "In two days we'll be on a plane. I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner but you see I was hoping that maybe dad would reconsider or magically all the planes in the world would break, or people would suddenly hate sweets which let's be honest is a bit far fetched even for me, or-!"

Alya cut her friend off with a spine crushing hug. "It's okay girl. I'm gonna miss you but I get it. Besides, if anyone can make this work its us am I right?"

"Make what work?" Marinette asked rather confused.

"You don't think we're gonna stop being best friends do you? I mean, we can skype and e-mail, and there's always writing letters if you want to be traditional about it. What?" Alya asked when Marinette started laughing.

"Oh, nothing. Yeah! We can make it work." The two girls shook hands on it until out of nowhere Marinette sobered up from her happiness. "I'm going to miss Paris, this is my home, where I grew up."

"True, and there's no Adrien in China." Alya jested which made Marinette crack a smile. "So, when is the party?"

"What party?"


	3. Alya: Party Mastermind

"Your going away party, duh! Do you really think I'd let you go without one?" Alya pulled out her phone. "You leave in two days so that's perfect! That gives me until the end of the day today to get everything ready then we can throw it tomorrow. We probably don't want to do your house, what with boxes and all that. Plus no offense but your place is kinda small for a party. We need somewhere big, I got it!" She threw her arm in the air. "Adrien, come'ere!"

The blond was all too happy to be called over. He had been trapped by Chloe but this gave him the excuse to leave. "What's up?" He asked, pushing a hand through his naturally styled hair.

"We're throwing a party for Marinette, and we need space. I was thinking your house?"

At this point Marinette pipped in. "A-Alya, I don't need a party, and we can't do it at Adrien's house. That's rude, and what if he's busy, or h-he might not even want us over or..." She was rambling but no one was listening. Alya and Adrien were in party planning mode. Apparently his dad was out of town and so it was just him and Nathalie in the house. He was pretty sure she would be okay with it as long as no one made a mess of the house or anything. With this reassurance Alya sent a mass text to all their friends telling them the details, but not why they were having the party. They would find out eventually. Marinette sighed with a smile. As much as she didn't want the attention she was lucky to have Alya as her best friend. Gasp! And she'd get to see Adrien one last time. "Alya..." She looked over at the blogger. "What am I going to wear?" As much as she would love to make something special all of her sewing supplies and nice clothes were already packed away.

Alya thought for a minute before a mischievous smirk set on her lips. "I think I know." Alya had the perfect outfit hidden away in her closet. "I'll bring some stuff over later, okay?" Mari nodded as the two stood and headed back to class. It was time for Maths. Ew.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Maman, Alya is here. We'll be back later, all my stuff is packed except for my pillows and an outfit for tomorrow." It was the day of the party, Alya had just arrived to walk with Marinette over to Adrien's. They were going to help set up and then have just enough time to change clothes before people started to arrive.

"Alright sweetheart. Don't stay out too late Marinette, you need to be up and moving in the morning ready to go." Sabine hugged her daughter then Alya. "You kids have fun alright?"

"Will do." Alya spoke as if reporting for duty. "You guys have a safe flight if I don't see you before then." Alya grabbed Marinette's hand. "But we better get going if we want to help set up. See ya Mrs. Dupain-Cheng." With that the two girls set off, party supplies in tow. It was only 3 pm but they figured Adrien's house was huge so it would take a while to get it ready, plus Alya was planning on doing Marinette's hair for the party. If you're gonna go out, go out in style.

During their walk Alya kept the conversation light hearted, talking about her blog and about how of course after Mari leaves she's going to finally figure out who Ladybug is. It took quite a bit for Mari to keep from laughing. She was glad for this party. It was an easier way to tell all her friends that she was leaving. Well, almost all of them. There was still someone who didn't know.

It wasn't that she was trying to keep Chat in the dark. She just could never find the right moment. She was nervous about his reaction. Marinette knew it wasn't fair. She couldn't just up and leave without saying anything. Maybe she would try and find him tonight. After the party.

When the two finally arrived at Adrien's house they both looked up at it. Was it just Mari or did this place seem to get larger every time they saw it? She shook her head, snapping out of it. With a single determined nod Marinette reached out a hand and pushed the buzzer. From experience she knew that Nathalie would be at the other end of the line.

"Hello?" Spoke the familiar female voice. "Can I help you?"

"Umm, uh, hi! I'm Marinette and- and this is Alya. We're here to see Adrien, and h-help decorate." Marinette spoke quickly, a little nervous. What if they weren't allowed to throw the party here? What if Adrien's dad hadn't left? What if Nathalie had told Adrien no? All of her fears vanished as with a buzz the front gates swung open.


	4. Best Party Ever

The party was amazing! One of the best parties Marinette had been to in the last 15 years of her life! Thanks to Adrien and his personal chef there were snacks galore and several varieties of punch. All of Mari's friends had shown up and as soon as they learned the reason behind such a spontaneous gathering they smothered Marinette with hugs and cries of goodbye. Nino had brought out his DJ rig and despite the sour reasoning they all seemed to be having a great time. There was only one thing missing, or better, one person.

Mari couldn't help herself, she kept looking out the window hoping he was on patrol nearby. As much as she wanted, she knew she couldn't escape. Not even for a few minutes after all, this party was centered around her.

"Is everything okay?" A voice asked behind her. For a moment she could have sworn it was Chat, but turning around it was just Adrien. "Are you alright?" Even as she hoped Chat was here her heart fluttered at Adrien's presence.

"Huh? O-oh, yeah! Every-everything is great! This is all great!" She was not as convincing as she had hoped to come off as.

"Nervous?" He asked, the corners of his mouth curled up into the kindest of smiles that would make any girl (and even some guys) buckle at the knees. "Don't worry, I've been to China. It's a nice place, maybe you'll even get some inspiration for a clothing design." Oh Adrien, ever the optimist.

"I'll miss you." Marinette sighed happily before realizing she had spoken those words. "Uh! I'll miss you...you all! I-I yeah! I'll miss you all as in everyone! As in e-everyone here! That's who I'm going to miss! Not just you, I mean you're included but not exclusively." Words were spewing out of her mouth before she knew it.

Adrien chuckled softly which surprisingly calmed Marinette's nerves a bit. "I'll miss you too Mari." He nodded before rejoining with Rose on the dance floor. Marinette felt like melting.

It was about 22:30 when the last guest finally left. Alya and Mari offered to stay behind and help clean up but Adrien insisted that he could handle it. The girl's didn't put up much on a fight to be honest, they were both tired and they still had to walk home.

Their walk was quiet. Alya was leafing through her best friend's one and only parting gift. A contact book. Alya had everyone write down their email and mailing address along with a small message for Marinette. It was very sweet and as an extra bonus Alya even had little headshots of everyone to go next to their name. For only knowing about Marinette's leaving for a day Alya hadn't wasted any time in proving her best friend status.

"You're gonna write to me everyday, alright? I want to hear everything!" Alya broke the silence as they were nearing her house.

"Of course! I'll tell you the moment our plane touches the ground." Mari sighed as they now stood on Alya's front porch. "Oh! What about this dress?" It was borrowed after all and marinette wouldn't have time to return it in the morning. "Do you want me to mail it back to you?"

"Nah, just keep it. It looks better on you anyways."

"A-are you sure Alya?"

"Yeah girl! It looks so much better on you than on the hanger in my closet." Marinette hugged Alya so tight that the poor blogger was barely about to complete her sentence. "Girl, just..." She struggled until Marinette let go and she could breath again. "Just don't go trying to find a new best friend." Mari gasped and quickly shook her head.

"Never! We're best friends for life! No matter what."

"No matter what." Alya repeated. "Now you'd better get home before I break my promise to Sabine!" Alya squeezed her friend tight before handing over the contact book and giving the bluenette a slight push. "I'll see ya Mar."

"We'll talk soon! The moment the plane touches ground!" Marinette shouted as she started the sad walk away. The clouds looked like they were going to rain again. She hugged her book close. She had such great friends, she was unsure what she would do without them. She didn't want to read any of the comments, not yet, not until she was on the plane.

The city was quiet, as if it was giving Marinette her own sweet time to say good bye. It wasn't rushing her, sure there was a slight breeze that made her arms fill with goosebumps but it wasn't so cold that she wanted to run home. So she took her time. She loved nights like this, where the city let her think, let her process what was happening. She didn't want to leave. She also didn't have a choice in the matter. She was only 15.

She didn't walk alone for long. A pair of black boots soon kept to her her pace. She couldn't help but smile.

"Chat!" She quickly turned and hugged her kitty.

"P-princess!" The hug surprised him. He hadn't known that Chat meant that much to Marinette. Yes, they had worked together a few times but it was nothing too substantial. Maybe it was his charms that had gotten to her. "Might I say you are looking absolutely purrrrrfect tonight?" Chat cooed as they resumed walking.

"Thank you Chat." Mari spoke to her friend, her fingers played with the hem of her dress. She had to admit, the dress did look nice on her. The light blue paired with silver sequins brought out the blue in her eyes. The dress was spaghetti strapped and hit just above her knees. (I think we all know which dress I'm talking about)

"What's the occasion?" The black cat swung his arm around her, seeing her start to shiver.


	5. In China

The plane ride was...long. Over ten hours. During that time Marinette cried over her contact book, tried to work on a few of her designs, and slept. She mostly slept. But also, she thought about the previous night. She thought about her good friends that she would try her best to keep in touch with, she thought about her conversation with Chat and how surprisingly sad it had made her.

"What's the occasion?"

"Umm, o-occasion?" she had been a bit thrown off by his arm around her.

"Yeah, the dress. Surely you're dressed up for something. I don't know many people who dress up just to walk down the street." Chat laughed, thinking that was exactly what he and Ladybug did every night.

"Oh! Well, it's my last night in Paris so my friends threw a party for me."

"A party sounds fun. Pity you didn't invite me. I am a pawsitively great dancer." This made Marinette laugh, she had seen Chat dance. He wasn't bad, just...fun to watch.

The turbulence of the plane broke Mari's train of thought. She sighed. They were nearing Beijing. She patted her purse where Tikki had been hidden this whole time. Marinette's hands gripped the armrests as they began their descent. She had been on planes before but usually it was just a small plane to England or somewhere. Short flights, not ones like this where you sat there for hours and hours. She was ready to get off.

While her parents were collecting their luggage (most of it had been shipped straight to the house but they had all still brought a suitcase just incase something had happened.) Marinette sent Alya a facebook message that they had landed and reminded Alya that, "Why did I come here? I DON'T KNOW CHINESE!!" She only knew a few phrases and even those where heavily butchered. She had to figure something out, Adrien wasn't here to help her this time! She quietly thought about her new predicament on the way to their new house.

"Is this it papa?" The twin-tailed girl asked as a taxi pulled to the side of the road.

"Yes, here we are!" Tom said as he climbed out of the car and paid for its service. Sabine smiled. It was no secret that she had wanted to come back to China.

The house in front of them was small, smaller than the one in France. There was no real porch, just a step up to the front door. There was a few windows but Mari couldn't see inside yet. The outside of the house had white siding that had gotten dirty from the weather. She touched her purse again. "Tikki, welcome to our new home." She whispered, sounding as unexcited as she could be.

"Marinette, how about you help your father with the bags and I'll start making something for a snack?" Sabine nodded, the airplane food left something to be desired.

"Y-yes Maman!" Mari helped carry their suitcases in. The inside of the house was just as small as it had looked from the street. She took Sabine's suitcase to the larger of the two rooms, then her own to the smaller. She closed the door quietly.

"Tikki?"

"Yes Marinette?" The red and black kwami flew from her hiding place and looked around the room. Everything was white, the white carpet, the white walls, there were even sheer white curtains over a single window. The room was small. There was just enough room for a bed, a small desk, and if she moved things around maybe her sewing mannequin.

"Welcome to China." The girl muttered.

"It's not so bad Marinette." The positive Kwami shook her head. "We can paint the walls and put up pictures."

"I guess..."

"Believe me Marinette, it will be okay."

"What about Chat? Will he be okay with Ladybug gone?" Ladybug hadn't told Chat goodbye, and Marinette was still torn up about that. What would he think when his Lady didn't show up?

"Chat Noir will be...fine." The kwami was unsure. "Cats always land on their feet, right?"

Marinette sighed. "I guess you're right. Besides, it's not like I can just pop back over there."

"Oh! But there are lots of things to do here! It's a new adventure Marinette." The kwami's head turned. "Do I smell cookies?"

Marinette smiled, "Yeah, maman is making some, let's go see." With that Tikki flew back into Marinette's purse and the pair found their way to the kitchen.

The white theme of Marinette's room carried all throughout the house. White carpets with white walls. Ew. The only color in the living room were the brown boxes that covered the floor just waiting to be unpacked.The kitchen was small, only one person could fit in it at a time. Off of the kitchen was a dining room where Tom was assembling their table.

"Marinette, why don't you try to find the box with the chairs in it?" He asked his daughter who nodded and set off on her mission.

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Adrien wasn't quite sure how he felt. Why did Chat walk Marinette home? Yes, he was her friend but did he really need that extra time with her? Why had he gone out of his way to see her off? The blond pondered this as he sat at his desk. With Marinette gone school felt...different. She hadn't talked much in class but the knowledge that when Adrien turned around she wouldn't be there...it hurt. And he didn't know why.

Everyone else noticed the absence too. Alya was checking her phone constantly, waiting for news from their friend. Nobody was in the mood to learn. It didn't help that they had all stayed out pretty late the night before. The only one in a good mood was Chloe.

She strutted about, nose turned up, snubbing everyone else.

"Adrikins! I can't believe you threw a party and didn't invite me!" She stopped in front of the poor boy's desk, her hand on a hip. "I'm sure you didn't mean to forget about me." Actually they had. Alya had been sure not to invite Chloe or Sabrina. She had wanted Marinette's last night to be good. Chloe looked over at Marinette's empty spot, an evil gleam in her eye.

It was in this moment that Alya moved her book bag from the floor to in Marinette's old seat. Chloe grimaced. "Can't say I'm not glad she's gone. She was always so rude and ungrateful."

Adrien stood. "Go sit down Chlo. Now." His words almost came out like a growl. What was happening to him? With a fist bump from Nino class started.

 

 

Author's Note: First I want to thank you guys for reading and liking this so far. Now that Mari has moved the POV will be switching from Beijing to Paris hopefully on the chapter mark. Just a warning I'm sensing a lot of Chat feels are on the way. Poor kitty. Hmmm, I wonder how Mari's gonna do at school if she doesn't know Chinese...


	6. First Day

"Marinette, se réveille!"

"Non maman! Cinq more minutes!" She pleaded.

"That's what you said five minutes ago, it's time to rise and shine."

Marinette sighed and looked at her kwami. They had now been in China for a few days, they hadn't managed to get paint on any of the walls but a majority of their things were now unpacked. Next to Tikki was a picture frame filled with one of the pictures from their class photoshoot in the park.

"First day of school Tikki." With one last sigh Marinette got out of bed. Looking in her closet she pulled out her school uniform. The uniform composed of a white long sleeved shirt, a black vest with matching tie, and almost knee length black skirt, black shoes with black socks. Mari nodded. A uniform, as a fashion bound student she hated it. She wanted to go back to Paris, to her friends, to her school where she could wear what she wanted! "Tikki, I'm not allowed to wear my purse, you'll have to be in my bookbag."

"That's alright Marinette, I'm sure today will be perfectly fine. And then you can tell Alya all about it!" Talking to Alya had mostly consisted of emails or facebook messages with four to six hours in between responses. The time differences were really throwing them off. Alya had told Marinette how Adrien stood up to Chloe and Marinette told Alya about how the house was turning out.

"Marinette, you need to hurry!" Sabine warned, this time sounding a little aggravated at her daughter. She understood Marinette's hesitancy but at the same time this was Mari's first day of school and she shouldn't be late.

"O-Okay maman! I'll be out in a minute!" She hurriedly dressed and pulled her hair back into her iconic pig tails. She grabbed her new bag, a black messenger with plenty of room for books. As she left her room she pulled her socks up and Tikki flew into her bag. "Sorry maman."

"It's alright, I just don't want you to be late. After school we are going to go by the hardware store. Maybe we can pick out some paint for your room."

"That sounds good, um maman?" Marinette asked as she quickly downed a bowl of cereal and a pear.

"Yes mon chou?" Sabine was finishing up some dishes while she waited for Mari to finish eating.

"I don't speak Chinese...how will I understand what's happening in school?" It was true, Marinette try as she did was terrible at learning other languages. She wasn't even that good at French!

"Don't worry, the school has a translator on staff. She will follow you around and assist you in communicating." Great, so not only was Marinette going to be the new girl now she was going to have someone following her around all day. Just what she needed to fit in.

"Merci maman." At least she would be able to talk with someone if need be. She just hoped that who ever it was to help her was nice.

"Okay Marinette, let's get going. We still need to sit down with your principal."

"Alright, I'm ready." She rinsed out her bowl quickly and followed Sabine out. They only lived a few minutes from the metro so the mother daughter pair walked. Tom had long since left for the restaurant, trying to learn everything he could about chinese cuisine.

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"Ms Dupain-Cheng, may I introduce Ms Treages." The principal waved a hand to the woman standing a few steps away from him. "She will be your assistant in all of your classes, and help you with anything you require." The principal was short, only 157 cm (5'2") but standing next to Ms Treages made him look even smaller. She looked to be around 180 cm (5'11")

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Ms Treages shook hands with the teenage girl. "I hear you are from Paris France, I used to live there too." She was pretty, and she looked strangely familiar. Her face was thin and pointed, her eyes were the color of jade and her hair was a soft honey blonde. Marinette shook Ms Treages's hand.

"Nice to meet you too." After that Sabine and the Principal spoke of the classes that Marinette was taking. Just the basic stuff, maths and science. It was disappointing that this school didn't have a design course.

"Onto the dress code. Every month the students are allowed the last Friday to wear casual clothing. All other days we follow the strict uniform policy. There will be no dying of hair, no tattoos, and no...earrings or other jewlery." The Principal raised an eyebrow to Marinette.

She gasped and her hands flew to her ears. "B-but..." There was no getting around it. What could she say. I'm sorry but i am Ladybug and these are my magical earrings? "Yes sir." She gently took them out and tucked them into one of the pockets of her bag.

"I believe this concludes our meeting. Mrs Dupain-Cheng if you have any further questions feel free to contact me. With that being said I believe you have Mathematics beginning in a few minutes. Ms Treages will show you to way." Marinette nodded as Sabine and her new principal shook hands. She sighed quietly. Today would be a long day.

 

Author's note: Hopefully you all are liking this, hey, do you know another name that can be spelled from Treages? ;)


	7. Where's Lady?

"Maybe she's sick?" It had been a while since he had seen his Ladybug. Adrien lay on his bed talking to Plagg, well more like talking at Plagg.

"Dude, it's only been a few days. Maybe Ladybug is just busy. Sometimes you disappear for a few days, do you think she goes crazy like this?"

"But she never does this." Adrien stared up at the ceiling thinking about his bugaboo. "I'm worried about her Plagg."

"I know kid, but like you said she's probably just sick. If it makes you feel any better I'll go look for her Kwami while you're in school."

"No, I'm sure you're right." Adrien sighed as he stood up. "In the meantime, we have work to do. Plagg, claws out!"

Patrolling had become a bit harder without his Lady. Normally she would take half the city and he would take the other before meeting up at the Eiffel tower. With her disappearance he was left with the whole city to himself. Not that it was a challenge for the alley cat, it just wasn't as much fun. As he left from rooftop to rooftop he found himself outside of the Dupain-Cheng's house. There was a for sale sign on the front door, and Chat could see a young couple inside with a realtor.

It was always a sad day in Paris when a boulangerie closed. It was so hard to find the perfect croissant or bread. It was even sadder when you knew the people who ran it. Chat shook his head. Why was he suddenly sad whenever he remembered her? It didn't make any sense. He pulled out his baton and opened the screen, trying to call his Ladybug. It was no use. He didn't think it would work but hey, everything was worth a try. With that he extended his baton and leapt off. He needed to finish patrol, he still had biology homework to do.

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"Have you heard anything from her yet?" Adrien asked Alya. The two and Nino were sitting at an outdoor cafe, homework sprawled out on the table in between cups of coffee and plates of sweets. Alya shook her head.

"Not since yesterday. It was her first day of school. I wonder how it went." Alya erased some of the work on her math homework.

"Hopefully well, it sucks being the new kid." All three of them nodded to Adrien's statement.

"I know!" Alya shouted and pulled out her phone. "Come here, we can send her a video." She moved so that everyone was in the frame before pressing record. "Hey girl! It's me Alya, remember? Your best friend? And this here is Nino, and Adrien. You know, from forever ago." Alya laughed at her own joke that Mari wouldn't remember them. "We're just checking in on you, I'm about to make a group chat so that they stop asking me if I've heard from you! Here, you guys say something." She moved the camera so that it was starring Nino.

"Uhh, hey Marinette." Nino waved, he wasn't a big fan of being put on the spot like this, even though he grew to expect it what with dating the host of the Ladyblog. "How are things? I heard your house is a bummer but I'm sure you can fix that in no time. Hey, remind me to send you some of my new jams. You can be the rockin-est chick at school."

"Next you!" Alya switched the camera over to Adrien who smiled like the model he was. Maybe it was just a reflex to seeing a lense.

"Me? Okay. Hi Marinette, did Alya tell you that they put in a new playground set at the park? Ummm, I guess you wouldn't really be affected by that though would you?" What was he doing? "U-umm okay okay! Your house is on the market now, there were some people looking at it earlier, wait you probably don't want to know that do you?" He gave a nervous laugh. Why was he all of a sudden tongue tied? "Alya told us your first day of school was here so zhù nǐ hǎo yùn. That means good luck. Oh! Tell your uncle hi from me, and that next time I'm over there I'd love to try his famous celestial soup again."

"Okay! On that note!" Alya moved the camera back to herself. "Hope you have a good day, or night, or whatever time it is over there! And you'd better give me all the deets about everyone in your class, unless they're cooler than us three. But what am I saying, no one can be that cool! Alright, I'll talk to you later then, byyyee!" She stopped the recording and sent it off to her friend.

Alya looked at Adrien and shook her head. "You really have a way with words don't you?"

"In my defense I don't usually talk in front of the camera, I just smile and look awesome." He looked at his watch. "Speaking of cameras I have to run. I have a shoot and I gotta get ready." He pulled together his textbooks and papers, stuffing them into his school bag. "I'll see you guys later." He kissed Alya's cheek and fist bumped Nino before running off.

"Plagg, what is going on with me recently? Since when can't I talk like a normal human being?"

"It depends who you're talking to." Plagg mused before biting into a piece of camembert.

"I'm probably just tired." Adrien countered. "It's from patrolling all the time. I'll be fine once my Lady returns."

"You keep telling yourself that." Plagg mumbled between bites.

 

Author's Note: It's going to start picking up in the next few chapters, I just needed to get past introductions.


	8. Wait...What?!

School was...not great. Classes were hard and as expected everyone stared from the moment Mari shuffled through the door until the bell rang for classes to switch. At the start of each class the teacher would have Marinette stand and introduce herself, with the help of Ms Treages.

"Bonjour je m'appelle Marinette Dupain-Cheng and I want to study fashion." She would then go on to say how she was from Paris and had just moved to China. And how she was so excited to be here. Too bad when translating Ms Treages didn't include the sarcastic tone. The translator was nice. She wasn't overwhelming, merely being a shadow to Marinette. She spoke softly as to not disturb the other students yet loud enough for Marinette to hear her.

At lunch Marinette struggled to sneak Tikki food. With everyone glancing her way she didn't want to be that person. The one that stuck food in her backpack like they were crazy. Normally she would either go home for lunch or she and Alyua would hit up a cafe. She missed Alya. She pulled out her phone. If it was thirteen hours here (1pm) then it would be....7 hours there. She wondered if her friend was awake.

As if on cue her phone dinged with a facebook alert. It was a video message. She turned up the volume so that she could hear what her friends had sent. She smiled and laughed and felt like crying.

"Are those your friends?" Ms Treages asked, not being nosey but noticing the tender change of emotions in Marinette.

"Yeah" Mari nodded and paused the video. "That's Alya, my best friend," The pointed to each face as she said their name. "Nino, and then there's Adrien." Unconsciously her voice became slightly more dream-like at that last name. Ms Treages laughed, not at the girl, but with her.

"I take it you like this boy?"

"Yes, er-I mean, ummm, doesn't everyone?" Mari gave a nervous laugh. This was normally when Alya would intercede and fix the conversation. Too bad Alya wasn't here. "E-everyone loves him, h-he's Adrien Agreste. He's in magazines and on posters and I'm pretty sure that if he were on a carton of milk people would still frame it like a Monet." With each word Marinette's voice heightened pitch and speed. "And his father is Gabriel Agreste th-the famous fashion designer and so Adrien is usually his model. And wouldn't that be so great to be working with such a famous and talented designer! A-And Adrien isn't just pretty, I mean, I'm not saying he's pretty it's more of a general consensus but he's kind too and he cares which doesn't seem important or remarkable but compared to Chole. I'm not saying that she's the spawn of Satan but I have been known to small sulfur when she's near." Poor Marinette was out of control. "But Adrien's not like that! No no! Adrien is well, he-he's" She gave an abrupt sigh. "Perfection." She rested her chin on her hand.

"Perfection? Wow, that's is a high compliment."

"Yeeaahhhh." Mari couldn't help but gaze off, thinking about Adrien and her and their future. Wait, no! She shook her head. "I-i mean it depends-" Her conversation was cut short by screams and running. "Wha-what's going on?!" She yelled over the commotion.

"Run Marinette, follow the others!"

"What? No!" The girl didn't have much of a choice as she was carried away by the sea of high schoolers. "Tikki! Spots on!" She shouted but nothing happened. Her earrings were in her bag. Stupid stupid uniform policy!

"Duusu, show your feathers!" Marinette heard a yell then saw a blue of blue and green.

The action was over as soon as it started. According to the rumors that Mari had Ms Treages translate one of the other girls had been dumped and had taken it badly. Badly enought ot become a supervillain. Marinette was confused. She thought she had left Hawkmoth in Paris, how did he follow her here? As she tried listening to the talk around school she kept hearing a name. Nelle Mor. The only reason it stood out was the fact it didn't sound like Chinese. Marinette was no expert on languages but to her it almost sounded like Hindi. Mari wasn't sure but what she did know was that there was another miraculous holder. 

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"Tikki, did you see that?" MArinette was now home sitting in front of a can of paint. True to her plans she and Sabine had picked out paint for the house. A pale blue for the living room, lilac for the kitchen, green for the master bedroom and for Marinette's room a nice blushed rose pink. Just like in France. "Who's Neele Mor? Is it another miraculous? And What happened to the girl? It was almost like an akuma attack."

"I'm not sure Marinette but if there are other attacks like this then you're going to have to figure out how to transform into Ladybug. If you can't wear jewelry what are we going to do?"

"I know Tikki, but I think I have a plan. I just have to find my sewing kit."

"First let's paint! These white walls aren't you at all."

"Agreed." Marinette laughed watching the kwami trying to lift the roller brush.


	9. Phone Call

It took a while and it was a bit of a mess but as Marinette looked around her room she smiled, for once not feeling totally lost or out of place. Her room was now pink and above her headboard she had used green and lilac to paint in a few flowers. There were still issues, like the room size and the lack of balcony to which she had grown accustom but she couldn't exactly fix any of that stuff so she refused to dwell on it. She quickly pulled out her phone and sent Alya a photo with the caption "getting there."

Marinette opened her window. If she wanted to know what was going on with this 'Neele Mor' she would need to know the city better. Have it memorized like the back of her hand.

"Tikki, spots on!" She felt that rush of adrenaline as she transformed, a mixture of courage and confidence. Just like that she was ready to face the world! "Okay Tikki, let's do this!" She went to climb out her window when her yoyo began to vibrate. She lifted to to her face. "...Chaton?!"

"Ladybug!" Chat's ears perked up at the sight of his spotted partner. "You're okay!"

"Of course I am you silly kitty." Seeing him caused a series of emotions, from uncontrollable joy to sorrow to regret. She was hit with the full spectrum, but most of all she simply missed her kitty.

"I was worried, wouldn't want my love bug catching sick." His nickname for her was responded with an eye roll. "LB, meet me at the tower tonight? Oh! I gotta go, I'll see you then m'lady!" Without giving her so much as a wave the two were disconnected.

"But Chaton…" Mari sighed and shook her head, knowing she wouldn't be able to show up. "No time for that now, we'd better go before-"

"Marinette, can you help me with dinner?" Sabine asked with a knock at the girl's door.

"U-uh sure maman! Un moment s'il vous plaît." Marinette closed her window. "Tikki, spots off. We'll explore the city another time." After de-transforming she let Tikki hide in her jacket and the two went to help Sabine."

"She's not coming, is she?" Chat Noir asked the air beside him. He had been finished with patrol and waiting for going on two hours now. He knew Plagg thought him pathetic and right now, he wasn't far from agreeing. He waiting ten more minutes, giving her one last chance, hoping to see some sign that she was near, but there was nothing. She never showed.

Back at Chez Agreste, Adrien slumped into a bean bag chair. He felt empty. He checked facebook from his phone just for something to do. As said he, Nino, Alya, and Mari were now all in a group chat. He wanted to talk to the girl but with that pesky time difference he didn't want to wake her.

"She painted." He commented to no one. Plagg was across the room falling into a cheese coma. It was strange. Looking at the selfie of Mari with her painted wall gave him a sense of deja vu. "It looks nice."

"Plagg, we're late!" Adrien ran about his room, throwing on his jacket, tossing his bag over his shoulder.

"You can't be late if you never show up kid. I say we play hooky!"

"You think we should play hooky everyday!"

"It's true. You know you are the only kid that actually likes going to school. I knew some kids would kill for a day off."

"Save it for the therapy session, come on!" Adrien raced out the door, running to the waiting limousine. He wasn't worried about Plagg falling behind, for being so lazy the cat had no problem keeping up.

When he walked into the classroom he learned that Nino was out sick. The emptiness from the night previous returned as he sat alone.

During break he tracked down Alya in the computer lab. It was in the moment he reminded himself, he wasn't pathetic, he was just concerned.

"All quiet on the ladyblog?" He would approach the subject with caution.

"Not even crickets!" The blogger threw back her head. "Ladybug is MIA! No sightings, no leads, no...ANYTHING!" Alya pressed refresh on her blog page. "There's absolutely nothing to report."

"Well, what about Chat Noir?" He was hesitant to bring his alter self up but he couldn't help it. Nothing? He was busting his butt to patrol by himself.

"He's still here, he's out almost every night." Then an idea clicked. "I wonder if he knows where Ladybug is." Adrien shrugged, not having any comment. He didn't want to crush the hope that Alya felt. He didn't want her to feel as empty as he did. "Didn't you say once upon a time that you had an in with the famous black cat?" Alya raised a brow to Adrien.

"It's not really an in, but I could probably get a message to him." The would be one of his first interviews without Lady.

"Would you? An interview with Chat Noir might just save my ratings this month! Okay, tell him this afternoon, at...where should we go...oh! The park! Next to the statue of him and Ladybug, it's perfect!" Adrien nodded, good thing his schedule was clear for today. Now he just had to think of what to say. This is what consumed his thoughts for the rest of the day.


	10. Akuma and a Discovery?

“Do you have any insight on Ladybug’s recent disappearance?”

“I just spoke with M’lady the other night. For anyone who was concerned, don’t be. She is perfectly fine.” He took a pause, his ears twitched the way they did when he was hiding something. “Just because Ladybug hasn’t been seen doesn’t mean that you are alone. We’re still here, for as long as Paris needs us, and then some.”

“Chat Noir, tell us, does the hardship of patrolling every night by yourself put a damper on your relationship with Ladybug?”

“What?” He shook his head. “No way! Nothing could possibly put a damper on our relationship.” He winked to the camera.

“What is that cat doing?” Marinette paused the video. Saving her butt, that’s what he was doing. She resumed the interview just in time to hear an off camera scream and see her black cat pounce into action.

“Looks like that’s my cue.” He gave a two finger salute and ran off. Alya, being the die hard journalist she was, chased after the hero.

“Keep in mind readers, this is the first akuma attack since Ladybug’s mysterious absence.” Mari watched the small screen as Chat distracted a...butterfly costumed boy…

“A butterfly? Is hawkmoth running out of ideas?” Mari asked to no one. She gasped, “How is he going to defeat the akuma?” Without her yoyo there was no way for Chat to de-evilize it. Unfortunately for her, she never found out how this battle ended for Alya’s phone died mid-pu. Mari couldn’t help but relate. Chat’s puns made her want to give up sometimes as well.

With a sigh she turned into her pillow. She wasn’t going to let Chat have all the fun, but first she needed some rest.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“Alright Tikki, spots on.” With a whisper Marinette slipped out of her room. It was around two in the morning and she figured she had a couple hours until papa woke up. Plenty of time to get the lay of the land. With ease she found herself soaring up to a nearby roof. She smiled, she couldn’t help it. It wasn’t the Paris skyline but the trying rays of light across the Chinese horizon were beautiful. 

She jumped from rooftop to rooftop, no destination in mind. She had missed this. The rush of air against her face, the peace that being alone brought, the sounds of crying in the distance...wait. No. She shouldn’t be hearing that. Something was wrong. Locating where the sound was coming from she swung over. The crying lead her to a side alley, but she couldn’t see anyone in there. It was still too dark for that. Ladybug closed her eyes, trying to focus more on the sound. There! It was like a child, crying and talking at the same time...but there was another voice too.

“Anna,” The younger voice whined, “I want to go home, why can’t we go home?”

“Shh” cooed what Ladybug assumed was the mother. “We will, I promise you.”

“I miss them! Why can’t we leave now? It’s been over a year.”

“You know why, but I swear, as soon as we can we’ll go home. I miss them too. Now come on Duusu, dry your tears and show your feathers.”

Duusu? She had heard that name before. Maybe it wasn’t a child’s voice at all, maybe it was...she needed to talk to Tikki about this.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sitting cross legged on her bed, a plate of chocolate cookies between them, Marinette looked down at Tikki.

“You didn’t have to bribe me you know...although these are really good!” The red kwamii said as she took a bite of her favorite snack. “What did you want to know?”

“Do you know who Duusu is? Is he a kwamii? Is Nelle Mor a miraculous holder? Do you know who it is? How are there akuma attacks here? How many miraculous items are there?” Tikki giggled at Marinette’s rapid fire.

“Yes, yes, most likely, no, I don’t know, seven.” With that she took another bite of cookie.

“Tikki! That’s not really answering my questions!” Marinette whined.

“I’m only joking, relax. Duusu is the peacock kwamii. That’s probably who you head crying earlier. There are seven kwamiis altogether, and just like you and Chat Noir the miraculous is usually given to someone who is a good fit for it. Someone good, someone who will help those in need. Whoever this Nelle More is, we should try to work with her. As for the attacks, I don’t know what’s going on. If I did I would tell you. But we can’t help unless you’re able to transform. How are we going to do that?”

“Cuff links.” Marinette nodded once.

“Cuff links?”

“Exactly!” As if that would answer Tikki’s quizative look. “Okay, we aren’t allowed to wear jewelry, but when I’m not Ladybug the earrings look black. And what color are the buttons on our cuffs? Black. Which honestly, design wise is really dumb and I don’t know who that it was a good idea, but that’s just the opinion of a future fashion designer, what do I know.” She shook her head but then resumed her plan. “However ridiculous the fashion choice it makes it very convenient for us. I just swap out the black buttons for the earrings, fastening them on like cuff links. That’ll work right? I can wear them as something other than earrings?”

“I think that will work perfectly!” Tikki flew up and hugged Marinette’s face. “I know you’d figure something out!”

Mari laughed. “Now if only I could figure out everything else in my life.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien groaned as he rolled over in bed. Everything hurt. Lucky for him there was no bruising. That would probably have raised some questions at his photoshoot later. He turned his head and looked to Plagg. After coming home the kwamii had been too worn out to even eat. This worried the boy.

“Plagg?” His voice was strained.

“That akuma really kicked your butt, kid.” The kwamii replied, but didn’t open his eyes. At least he was okay enough to talk smack. Adrien forced himself up, pulling out some cheese and setting it next to Plagg.

“Get some rest, I’ll be back after school.” He wasn’t going to push Plagg too far. He understood the kwamii needed as much rest as he did, too bad he didn’t have the option to stay home. 

Every movement ached as he dressed and walked out to the car. He racked his brain, replaying the fight over in his mind, trying to figure out what went so horribly wrong. It was Ladybug. He was os used to his Lady being there, showing up just in time to catch him. In this case literally catch him. Wings, the akumatized boy, had flown him some distance in the air and dropped him. Adrien was lucky to be alive, let alone be worried about if bruises had formed.

He hadn’t really had a plan either, LB usually figured out how to defeat any threats. Either by using her lucky charm or by just being brilliant. She would be able to work without him, but he didn’t think he could do the same. He hadn’t even won! That was the real kicker, he hadn’t defeated anyone. For some reason the boy had simply stopped being under Hawkmoth’s control. As if Hawkmoth had decided Chat wasn’t worth the energy.

In the car Adrien wasn’t sure which hurt worse, his muscles or his pride, but as he walked into class he instantly found the answer. Everyone was watching it. Someone had cut together a gif of Chat and all the times he got hit or hit the ground. He was a joke. A joke with over twelve million views. Now he really did wish he could have stayed home.

“Adrien!” Alya tapped his shoulder. “Does our mutual friend have anything to say about this?” She turned her phone towards him, as if he hadn’t already seen the gif. Deep down he knew Alya didn’t mean to be rude, she wasn’t that kind of person but Adrien couldn’t help glaring at the screen as it mocked him.

“He tried his best okay!” The boy stood, arms at his side, his hands wanting to form fists. “I don’t see anyone else running to delp do you?! No! So maybe we should all just cut him some slack!” He situated his bag on his shoulder before walking out of the room. This was crazy! “Plagg, claw-” Plagg was at home. Adrien would have to disappear the old fashion way.

He dropped his bag off in his locker and without looking back he ran. There was no destination in mind, he just needed to get away. Away from everyone who laughed at his expense. He wanted to find Ladybug, yell at her! He wanted to make her explain where she was! Why she wasn’t here! Why She didn’t care about him!

He found himself on the river’s edge. This was fitting, the last place his mother had taken him before… He fell to his knees, holding his head in his hands. Why did everything good in his life have to disappear?

 

Author’s Note: :’(


	11. Truth, Lies, and a New Arrival

She saw the video, she couldn’t stop seeing the video. It was like a train wreck where you couldn’t help but stare. 

“Kitty…” She breathed. 

“What are we watching today? Another video from your friends?” Ms Treages was never nosy but she was nice enough that Marinette didn’t mind sharing. It wasn’t like Mari had any other friends here, if you could call your not-teacher a friend. 

“It’s…” The teen sighed, “Have you heard about Chat Noir?”

“The boy in the cat costume?”

“Y-yeah, he saves Paris.” He was much more than some boy in cat costume, but Mari didn’t feel like having that argument again. How hard was it for people to understand that they were a team. That he was the best partner she could ever imagine. 

“Right, him and Ladybug.”

“Exactly! Well, there’s this...just...here.” Marinette shoved the phone to the blonde interpreter. She watched as the corners of Ms. Treages’s mouth drew down in disappointment. 

“This is, this is just terrible. Who would make something like this?”

“I don’t know, but that’s not the worst part. Look at the comments.” Mari tapped her phone and comments filled the page. There were millions, all basically saying how useless Cas was. How he should stick to playing with balls of string. They were mean and hateful, and it made Mari’s blood boil.

“Why are people doing this? Don’t they realize that everyone has off days? Even superheros.” Ms. Treages handed the phone back to Mari. “That poor kid.I dearly hope you didn’t add any of those comments” Ms. Treages knew Mari wouldn’t but it still felt like a thing she should say. Why, if it was her kid posting things like that she would have more than a few strong conversations with him.. The bell chimes, signalling for the students to switch classes. 

Marinette remembered her first day of being Ladybug. She could remember how it felt when Lieutenant Roger Raincomprix dismissed her ability to help. It had been one of the worst feelings ever. If it hadn’t been for Chat she probably would have given up all that time ago. She needed to give that same encouragement to Chat now. Maybe she should add something to the continuous negativity. 

Quickly, before her next class started she typed up a comment. There was no way of knowing if her feline friend would see this but it was worth a try. Maybe tonight she would try to contact him, granted that would mean coming up with some excuse as to why she wasn’t around. She was tired of lying to her partner. Sooner or later it was going to catch up with her. She shook her head and hid her phone, class would be starting up soon. Later she would find a solution to her Chat problem, but right now she had to find the solutions to her maths problems. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maybe he was a glutton for punishment, or maybe he agreed with what everyone was saying. Some reason or another Adrien Agreste found himself sitting by that same river, on the page of that stupid video. That same words kept popping up: useless, worthless, joke, pathetic, lame. He scrolled through comment after comment.

Maybe he should focus more on the fight and less on his puns

Not even Ladybug can help him

Worst. Hero. Ever.

No wonder Ladybug left.

I would hate to have to work with him.

Chat tried his best. That’s all we can ask from anyone. I’m proud of Chat Noir. He is Paris’s hero. He’s kind and clever and amazing. Everyone has bad days, Ladybug and Chat Noir included. Do we make fun of firefighters after they struggle to contain the flames? What about a doctor after he’s lost a patient? No, We don't. We stand behind them and show support because we know that they tried. So why are you laughing at Chat? We should be applauding him for trying to help. For taking a stand against Hawkmoth when no one else would. Chat Noir, if you are here reading this, thank you. And don’t worry, you’ll get it next time. 

A stray tear slipped its way down his cheek as he slowly stood. He made sure to take a screenshot of NotABugJustALady’s comment before it got swallowed by others. He looked across the Seine. The comment reminded him of the things his mother used to say. Things like, “keep your head up buttercup or you won’t see any sunshine”, or the one he was actually thinking of, “The only people who can call you worthless are worthless people.”

He smiled at the thought of her. Adrien looked down at his phone again, it had went to a screensaver, a photo of him and his mother. They were both so happy. 

“It’ll pass, just like the flu. It has to get worse before it gets better.” He told himself before turning and starting the walk home.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It did start to get better. The lack of Akima attacks really helped. Chat had saved various animals from various trees, helped little kid find his parents, he had even helped an old lady cross the street. He was still worried about his Lady. It had been radio silence ever since he asked her to meet him at the Eiffel tower. Frankly, if he did hear from her he wouldn’t know what to say. How do you tell the love of your life that they hurt you?

It was a strange feeling. People had stopped asking him where Ladybug was. It was nice to be appreciated, but at the same time it was wrong. There hadn’t been an akuma attack since “Wings.” It was...unsettling to say the least, like Hawkmoth was planning something. Chat still patrolled, but due to his busy schedule it was now only 3 times a week. He just couldn’t do it by himself. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Urg! Quiet! I can hardly hear myself think with all that racket!” In a stiff motion she stood up, putting on her dirtiest sneer. “Isn’t there something you can do?” She questioned a mother who had stopped to talk to a pedestrian. The mother was pushing a stroller which held the loudest baby in the world, who picked this exact moment to scream its head off.

She crossed her arms and tried again to get the mothers attention. “Excuse me!” With another failed attempt she groaned, looking up at the sky. “Really? Why me?” She asked the clouds above her. Like a bolt of lightening an idea hit her. With swift urgency she marched over to one of the street vendors and bought a small plush duck. A little piece and quiet was worth 5 Euros. 

“Here. Now will you please quiet down?” She tossed the stuffed animal to the child.

“Uckie!” The baby giggled and started to chew on the toy. She grimaced. Children were gross. She would never treat her bear, Mr, Cuddly that way. But at least now there was quiet. She sat back at her bench, her purse next to her. After a few minutes she pulled out her cell phone.

“Daddy? When can I go back in?” Her father spoke something back. “Well, tell the fire marshall to give the okay already! I want to go home!” She sighed. “Yes daddy, I know they’re making sure everything is safe and the fire is out. Yes daddy, I love you too.” She closed her phone and picked up her purse, heading back to Le Grand Paris. Hopefully nothing in her room had been damaged. She didn’t notice the addition of a black box with red markings to her purse as she headed home.

 

**Author’s Note: New Year, New Me: New chapter at least every month if not more. Things are going to start getting interesting.**


End file.
